Life
Sedaris on Letterman
Dad David Sedaris on Letterman Here is a funny video of David Sedaris reading an essay on Letterman. This guy is funny, relevant, and smart. Bryan
5Oct2007 | bryan | 2 comments | Continued
This American Life (and my top five)
Dad, I have been hooked on this radio show for about three years, and I still can’t get enough of it. I have added a little banner for them on our sidebar. Ira Glass is a genius, but I will talk more about him in another post. The show is downloadable from their website for […]
5Oct2007 | bryan | Comments Off on This American Life (and my top five) | Continued
Barack Obama, attacked by skeeterites
Son, Barack is being attacked – and the campaign risks spiraling into trivia. But there are important points to be made. Barack does not wear one of those American Flag Lapel pins. Some have said that he is not patriotic because of this. Whoeee! Someone is nuts or something. Barack responded with a long soliloquy […]
5Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
how debt, spirituality, and corruption are shaping our conversations…
Dad, This format, the fireside, is a wonderful way for us to have the kinds of conversations that we have always had. We meander through subjects, we get excited and passionate, and we have small talk and sometimes just take a nap. The difference that we are running in to here is that the format […]
5Oct2007 | bryan | Comments Off on how debt, spirituality, and corruption are shaping our conversations… | Continued
Garth Brooks – Concert Tickets
Son, Warning to reader : This not a site to buy tickets! We just talk about stuff. Garth Brooks is doing a one-time concert on November 14th at the brand new Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Ticket scalping has become a sophisticated industry and the Brooks concert organizers, along with the City of […]
5Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Jesus might have said…
Son, Jesus was one of those really interesting characters in history; he never wrote anything himself. Socrates was another. The only thing we know about Socrates is what his student Plato reported. The only words we have of Jesus are those written many years later. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John contain many […]
5Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Dave Ramsey provokes
Son, I copied our last chat and have posted it here for our readers to ponder. I hope you do not mind but I felt this was relevant to what we are trying to accomplish on this blog. The readers can get a real flavor our how we talk when no one is listening: 12:55 […]
4Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 5 comments | Continued
Robert Johnson – Transformation
Son, Robert Johnson is Jungian Analyst. These are some really fun people – I guess that might say more about me than about them. Really fun in the sense that they talk about the human condition in the context of literature, mythology, and history. My notion is that they take the collective wisdom of man […]
4Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Robert Johnson – Transformation | Continued
Barack Obama – hope and caution
Son, You talk about Barack Obama – and you have expressed your support for him. Another reason for a father to be proud of his son. Proud because Barack is not afraid to challenge the status quo, to challenge the old guard, to have the audacity of hope. You again demonstrate the ability and willingness […]
4Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 6 comments | Continued
Insanity on the internet – dismissing wackos
Son, Bill O’Reily uses the term, ‘insanity on the net.” He is mad because of criticism that he cannot pinpoint so he casts his blanket curse. Shawn Hannity refers to Congressman Murtha as being insane. He is mad because a respected congressman does not agree with him. Are these guys nuts or something? If we […]
4Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Hannah Montana – Skeeterites victim
Son, You and I have been talking about the possibility of commenting on some particular celebrities. Bill O’Reilly had a segment this evening on that very topic. The world of celebrity blogging apparently is very big and popular. The problem is that they have crossed the line with fabricating stories. We have compared blogging to […]
4Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Father, Son, Brother, Nephew -village
Son, I relate to the Phantom of the Opera. Sometimes I feel like he and I are related. You are blessed with the wisdom, courage, and the temperament of your mother. She is a lady of extraordinary humanity. She married the Phantom and became forever perplexed. The Phantom is a crazy man, he lives in […]
3Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Father, Son, Brother, Nephew -village | Continued
here’s to the crazy ones…
Dad, the true marriage of art and technology. Thanks to Steve Jobs for giving us a place along the way. And, truly, “think different.” Bryan
3Oct2007 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
Apple Inc. – Highway Reststop
Son, Steve Jobs, inventor, entrepreneur, corporate mogul, marketing wizard, philanthropist – what has he done? Apple Computer has created a stop along the highway, a place where weary travelers in the daily journey through technology can stop in and refresh themselves. This is an old story. The human relationship with technology is the outward manifestation […]
3Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Apple Inc. – Highway Reststop | Continued
Anonymous Blogging – is there value?
Son, Words – are they the same if you know who said them than if you do not know? Do words stand on their own? Does an idea stand on it’s own? Or is in necessary to put everything in the context of who said it? I write as Ohg Rea Tone, a nom de […]
2Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 5 comments | Continued
Rush and Reid: public faces vs. personal faith
Dad, As I was reading my morning news and blog sites, I began to ponder about the ways that our faith should play out in our private and public lives. Rush Limbaugh is a Methodist. I am proud to be part of a theology so diverse that it can include the likes of Rush, President […]
2Oct2007 | bryan | Comments Off on Rush and Reid: public faces vs. personal faith | Continued
Blackwater – responsible killers!
Son, There is some sort of bizarre debate happening in the mainstream media. Blackwater is a security company that has contracts to guard United States government employees in Iraq. The debate is around the notion that shooting people is sometimes less responsible than at other times. Civilization has often debated the nuances of ‘justifiable homicide.’ […]
2Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Blackwater – responsible killers! | Continued
A voyage of the Banned!
Dad, It is National Banned Books Week, according to the American Library Association. I saw the title of this post on a poster at the local Library. What a great chance to stop and remember the great pieces of literature that have made this prestigious list… A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess A Wrinkle in […]
2Oct2007 | bryan | 2 comments | Continued
God – an image – flat and boring?
Son, So it says. Made in his image. That is certainly appropriate. Think of a human image – a Polaroid, a picture, 35 mm, digital, painting – even portrait if you will. All images. The comparison of the two-dimensional image of a picture of a person to a real person is an appropriate metaphor for […]
1Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on God – an image – flat and boring? | Continued
Where Bilbo meets Aslan…
Dad, Here are two passages from books that I have been contemplating. They are about life and safety. The first is from The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step out onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing […]
1Oct2007 | bryan | Comments Off on Where Bilbo meets Aslan… | Continued
Is God an Arab?
Dad The answer is yes. “God created us in His image, and we decided to return the favor.” -George Bernard Shaw We tend to believe that God is in our image, rather than the other way around. Is God male? White? Female? Chinese? Arab? …yes. Bryan
1Oct2007 | bryan | Comments Off on Is God an Arab? | Continued
Dave Ramsey: the good, the bad, and the ugly…
Dad, When my wife and I moved to Nashville, Tn a few years ago we had nothing but some debt, a few barely marketable skills and a toddler. We weren’t sure now the new life we were living together and the new value system that we were trying to implement married the idea of money […]
1Oct2007 | bryan | 7 comments | Continued
Health Insurance – Subtleties of ‘cherry-picking’
Son, We talked earlier of how the Health Insurance Companies determine cost and how they use that information to put pressure on medical professionals. If we take the analysis a step further we can see other means of insurance company cost savings, and health care mismanagement. Remember, health insurance companies are not benevolent organizations interested […]
1Oct2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 4 comments | Continued
Harry Potter and the wizard’s allegory
Son, Inspired words. Words written with inspiration – not the words of man alone – but inspired by something greater. Where have we heard that before? The transformation of a human into something greater – some force for good – a force that can conquer a marauding giant with a mere flat rock hurled from […]
29Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
On being a Methodist
Son, So you want to be a Methodist. Responding in a public context is difficult. My role as a father is to affirm and encourage – while also giving my opinion – even if it is different. Let me be clear – I do not dispute the United Methodist Church as anything less than a […]
29Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 4 comments | Continued
Bloggers blog! a New age of Journalism.
Son, Everybody wants to be something. We tell people that we like to read, or we like to paint, or we like to write, or we like computers..we all want some identity with what we think we are. Here is the reality – writers write, painters paint, potters pot, and bloggers blog. But bloggers use […]
28Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Sarcasm – a toxic elixir
Son, I can be thoughtful – and I can be sarcastic. The sarcasm is a strategy learned many years ago while growing up. It is an old recipe, handed down through generations in my family. I have used it well to win fights – and I have lost many wars. You have heard me say […]
28Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Sarcasm – a toxic elixir | Continued
Dead Immigrants
Son, We have become a disgusting society. Reader – prepare yourself for some sarcasm – this struck me as a blatant disregard for human life – read on. The banner headline on MSNBC as we speak is “Unidentified bodies often buried at taxpayer expense.” Heaven Forbid! What have we come to? Doctor Stern (Someone being […]
28Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 5 comments | Continued
how do we change our behavior?
Dad, Our conversations tend to evaluate religion through the lens of scholarly interpretations. The problem with religion and scholarly discussion is that we can leverage the dialogue to avoid subjects that might get personal, and therefor inhibit growth. When people start to talk about feelings and families, about what they like and dislike about themselves, […]
28Sep2007 | bryan | Comments Off on how do we change our behavior? | Continued
Hate Crime and the Jena 6
Son, This morning, September 28, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said, “I have never understood hate crime legislation, but if it makes some people feel good so be it.” That is the standard shallow line of the conservatives – and they try to act so innocent. They raise their hands in that Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin pantomime […]
28Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 8 comments | Continued
Father and Son chatter
Son, I copied our chat from last evening. The purpose of this post is it let our readers better understand us. Readers: This blog really is a conversation between a father and a son. Sometimes we chat in the evenings – included in this blog is our chat from last evening. Enjoy 7:13 PM me: […]
28Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Father and Son chatter | Continued
Michael Moore – Sicko on Oprah
Son, Love him or hate him, Michael Moore has struck a nerve in America. He is on Oprah as I write. I am trying to capture the essence of what they are saying. Oprah has people in the audience from previous health care encounters with Presidential Candidates. There are some disturbing and very emotional stories […]
27Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Creating routines for easier mornings…
Dad, I am trying to implement some of the suggestions that I have received from our readers about easing the tension around taking my daughter to preschool. I am being careful to try and do a few things the same way every morning that she has school. She gets to pick out the clothes that […]
27Sep2007 | bryan | 1 comment | Continued
Closed Borders – Unworthy Immigrants
Son, The news media is talking. Politicians are yapping. Bloggers are blogging. Protect America – close the borders! This immigration thing has somehow been tied to terrorism. Immigration is also associated with economic prosperity. So the solution is to build a really big fence and train some pit bull border guards. Arm the general populace […]
27Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Closed Borders – Unworthy Immigrants | Continued
Metaphor, Simile, Allegory, Spirituality
Son, We have been writing about Christianity – and we are struggling to find consensus. That is the nature of discussion about spirituality. The very nature of ‘GOD’ defies the barriers of human language. The result is that we begin using figures of speech: Simile, Metaphor, and Allegory. We can ‘feel the truth,’ but we […]
27Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
What is a Bible Christian?
Dad, I think that this is what you are worried about, but fear not, I am not interested in any of those questions. All of the questions on that page can be answered with another question, like “What?” Or “Who cares?” Or “Are you serious?” Harry Emerson Fosdick was a preacher at the height of […]
26Sep2007 | bryan | Comments Off on What is a Bible Christian? | Continued
Challenging some assumptions about Christianity…
Dad, I am afraid that I must take exception to some of your comments in your last post. Not because they are wrong, but because, as you said, this is a complex subject. First, my wife and I are not on a journey to become good Christians. We are already good Christians. We are on […]
26Sep2007 | bryan | Comments Off on Challenging some assumptions about Christianity… | Continued
Blending Christianity with Humanity
Son. I am proud and happy that you and your wife are determined to be good ‘Christians.” With that said, I worry. I worry because Christianity is the source of most of the mental health virus of ‘shoulds’ in America today. I should be more loving, I should be more forgiving. I should be more […]
26Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Blogs versus real journalism
Son, We are having fun with this blog, but we sometimes write about serious stuff – and we want to be taken seriously. If we want to be taken seriously then should there not be some due diligence on our part – Some standard by which we hold ourselves accountable? The blogosphere is viewed by […]
26Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 3 comments | Continued
On Space Men and House husbands
Son. We are a society perverted by our own successes. What are the first two things we ask when we make a new acquaintance? What is your name? and What do you do? I think that has become an equally challenging issue for women in America. Is that a necessary by-product of capitalism? Must we […]
25Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
Harry Potter and the Fundamentalist curse
Son, Hey, check out this quote from an anti-Harry Potter website. (Click here to see the site.) This lady is probably afraid of H.G. Wells. “Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), wearing a Dorothy Hamill unisex hairstyle resurrected from the 1970’s by America’s First Lady Laura Bush, is Jesus Killer Rowling’s (and you wonder why she goes by […]
25Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 2 comments | Continued
rough weather in stay-at-home-dad land
Dad, Today is a school day and I dropped my daughter off with another screaming fit. This time she actually attached on to me and I had to pry her off. It was terrible. It has been a little over a month since she started and she seems to want to go less and less. […]
25Sep2007 | bryan | 2 comments | Continued
Jesus denies authoritarian rule…
Dad In the book “Pillars of the Earth,” Ken Follet tells the story of a monk, Prior Phillip, and his attempt to create a respectable village amidst the anarchy of the civil war between King Steven and Empress Matilda. There is a minor character who is a monk that betrays Philip to aid the authoritarian […]
25Sep2007 | bryan | 2 comments | Continued
Pordopoddies – Great Plains Americans
Son, Have you ever heard of the Pordopoddies – a Native American tribe of what is now Kansas. At least one of the current candidates for president is an ideological descendant of this little known, but important, tribe. You grew up on the Great Plains of America. You should know some of the mythology of […]
25Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Pordopoddies – Great Plains Americans | Continued
Ahmadinejad – Ohmydidhesayjihad
Son, Ohmydidhesayjihad? Take a close look at what right wing religious fundamentalism produces. Deny the Holocaust? How about denying Evolution.? Ponder the real cause of the September 11, 2001, attacks on America? Ponder the real cause of Global Warming? Fundamentalism has become a joke to the thinking people of the 21st Century. Omdidhesayjihad is no […]
25Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Ahmadinejad – Ohmydidhesayjihad | Continued
diplomacy: lessons from the road
Dad, I am learning about diplomacy and listening. I haven’t posted in a couple of days because I was on a road trip with my cousin. I spent about ten hours in his truck with him, and I began to realize that if I was intentional about not opening my mouth when i disagreed with […]
24Sep2007 | bryan | 2 comments | Continued
Patreus remembered
Son, He came. He testified. He disappeared. Where did that man go? He left the States and went to England to testify there about progress in Iraq. They want to hear what he has to say – so do I. General Patreus is truly a man of honor – caught in a war with unforeseen […]
23Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Patreus remembered | Continued
Marxism and McCarthyism
Son, Conservative commentators are out of control. I am on a toot about the irresponsible comments of Michael Reagan! Because there are some of us who believe in the merits of health care for all Americans, Mr. Reagan calls us Marxist. This type of name calling discredits the history of noble discourse, also guaranteed by […]
22Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | Comments Off on Marxism and McCarthyism | Continued
Free Speech and Health Care –
Son, Distortions abound! Michael Reagan – son of a noble man, is grasping at straws. His latest weekly column is a feeble attempt to compare rights with ethics. Mr. Reagan uses distorted logic to compare the ‘right to health care’ to the ‘right to free speech.’ All of this in the interest of blasting the […]
22Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 1 comment | Continued
Social creatures and semantics
Son, (Note – some of the language here may be offensive.) Your sensitivity to semantics has merit. Humans, by nature and nurture, are social creatures. All of us have the need for acceptance, a sense of belonging. We understand our level of acceptance through our language – the terms people use to describe us. We […]
21Sep2007 | Ohg Rea Tone | 3 comments | Continued